The North-West Tall Timbers Thunder’s trip to the nation’s capital started in a positive fashion on Friday night.

Sam Armstrong’s side walked away with a 90-73 win over the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence at the AIS Training Hall in Canberra.

But this was a contest that was nowhere near as easy as the final scoreline may suggest, with the Thunder facing plenty of challenges.

They started slowly and were on the wrong side of the equation at the first change, down 25-21.

Jeremiah Ingram had a strong game with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Thunder clicked into gear in the second term, with a 20-8 second period seemingly having the visitors on track for a comfortable result when they entered the long-break with the scoreboard reading 41-33.

But there would be another twist, with the Thunder’s advantage cut to just one point [56-55] at three quarter-time after the COE produced a 22-15 third quarter.

But the final quarter was like the second, with the Thunder able to make a strong statement on the scoreboard with a powerful 34-18 final term to ensure their season record moved to 6-8.

Ahmad Starks continued his strong form with 19 points and four assists, while Jeremiah Ingram had 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Daniel Sepokas was also strong with 17 points, nine rebounds and two assists.

Lat Mayen was the best for the home team with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

The Thunder will be back on court on Saturday against Canberra at Belconnen from 7.30pm.